1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of sports gear. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices for organizing, carrying, drying, and storing sports gear. More particularly yet, the present invention relates to an insert for a sports bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sports bags for organizing, carrying, drying, and storing sports gear are well known (the term “gear” as used hereinafter includes both articles of clothing and sports equipment). The conventional sports bag has several disadvantages. For one, articles of clothing and equipment are stored within the bag in a disorderly fashion, making it difficult to find or extract a particular article quickly without having to remove other articles. For another, the conventional sports bag does not promote proper care of sports gear following a sporting event. For example, articles of clothing and protective gear are frequently moist after they have been used. They are then necessarily tossed in a moist condition into a sports bag that impedes the flow of air through and around the gear stored within. Ideally, the gear is removed from the sports bag as soon as possible and set out to air out. This entails removing each article of clothing and equipment from the bag and laying it out to dry. Many fail to do this in a timely fashion, and, as a result, the sports gear remains in an enclosed area for an extended period of time, in a moist condition, in ideal conditions for the unhealthful and rank-smelling growth of mold, mildew, and fungus.
A further disadvantage of the conventional sports bag is that, once the person using the bag has dutifully removed all the articles from it for proper air-drying, all the articles must be put back into the bag before the next sporting event. It is not uncommon for people to forget to pack a piece of equipment or clothing that is needed for an event. The sports bag itself provides no visual cues as to what may be missing because the bag, being designed for general use, is not constructed to promote organization of gear for a particular sport in a manner that would provide helpful visual cues.
A number of specialty sports bags have attempted to overcome these disadvantages. One sports bag, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,034 (Fournier; 2001) has side and end walls that can be unzipped and opened out, so that the bag takes on a planar configuration. The outer surface of the bag is made of a flexible fabric. Nylon mesh pockets, shaped and sized to hold a specific piece of clothing or equipment, are disposed on the interior surface of the bag. When opened out to the flat configuration, the Fournier bag can be suspended from a hook or the like in order to promote air-drying of the equipment stored within the bag.
This sports bag has several disadvantages. The outer fabric of the bag is not a mesh fabric and, therefore, impedes rapid air-drying of the clothing and equipment stored within the bag. Another problem presented by the Fournier sports bag is that it is cumbersome and unwieldy, and unusable by youngsters who are playing at an introductory level of sports, such as level one hockey. This is because the person using the Fournier bag must be capable of organizing the gear within the boundaries of the bag in its planar configuration, fold up the side walls and end walls of the bag and zipper the respective wall into place, without clothing or gear sliding past the zipper edge of the wall and/or getting caught in the zipper. Zippers are difficult for many children to operate, and the need to hold the respective wall in place in order to pull the zipper closed requires more coordination and facility with zippers than the average seven or eight-year old can manage.
A further disadvantage of the Fournier bag is that it is constructed to carry gear for a particular sport. The bag, thus, may be well-suited for one particular sport, but not for another that requires very different types of clothing and equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,199 (Clement; 1995) discloses a bag having an inner mesh bag that can be removed from the outer sports bag. The first disadvantage of sports bags mentioned at the outset of this section applies to this bag. The bag provides essentially a large, unorganized area for storing sports clothing and equipment and, in order to gain access to some articles, others will need to be removed. Also, many of the articles will be stored in close proximity to one another, thereby making it necessary that the articles be removed from the bag if they are to be properly and rapidly air-dried.
Both sports bags discussed above, as well as many other specialty sports bags, have the disadvantage that they require the sports person to use a specialty bag, rather than a conventional sports bag. This is problematic for members of sports teams that use and provide a conventional style sports bag with the team logo or name on it. Also, children often prefer to use a very particular type of sports bag, either a particular brand, or one with a particular logo on it. Having to use a specialty sports bag, rather than the conventional sports bag of one's choice, may give rise to resentment and dissatisfaction.
What is needed, therefore, is a means of organizing, storing, and carrying sports gear that provides quick and easy access to all articles of clothing and equipment at all times. What is further needed is such a means that promotes rapid air-drying of the gear. What is yet further needed is such a means that is easy to manage, even for children and persons of small stature. And, finally, what is needed is such a means that does not require the person using it to forego use of his or her favorite sports bag.